Door.



J. H. PEARSON.

DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 1909.

941,094. Patented NOV. 23, 1909.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

@vih/masas J. H. PEARSON.

` DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29, 1909.

941,094. Patented N0v.23,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. PEARSON, OF WESTPLAIN S, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM S. MORGAN, OF WESTPLAINS, MISSOURI.

DOOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES a citizen of the United States, residing at l/Vestplains, in the county of Howell and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Door, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to door operating mechanism and is particularly designed for use in connection with sliding or folding doors, gates and similar closures, the object of the invention being to provide mechanism which will automatically open a door or the like when it is approached by a person desiring to pass through the door openin gA further object is to provide mechanism of this character including a depressible Hoor section designed to be actuated by the application of a weight thereto.

A further object 1s to provide mechanism for use in connection with double sliding doors, said mechanism being so arranged and constructed as to cause the actuation of either or both of the doors, according to the position of the person approaching the door.

A further obj ect is to provide door operating mechanism designed to be concealed within the walls adjoining the door opening.

Vith these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accom anying drawings the preferred forms of) the invention have been shown.

In said drawings :-Figure 1 is an elevation of double folding doors provided with operating mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention. Eig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the meeting ends of the depressible floor sections. Fig. 3 is an elevation of a single sliding door and a modified form of mechanism for actuating it. Fig. 4 is an elevation of another form of mechanism particularly designed for actuating sliding doors having al considerable movement.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a door of the sliding type, said door being provided at its upper end with a top strip 2 extending beyond the sides thereof and at right angles there- H. PEARsoN,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 29, 1909.

Patented Nov. 23, 1909. serial No. 486,446.

to, said top strip being' designed to bear upon carriages 4 mounted to travel upon parallel rails 3, which rails are disposed at pposite sides of the upper portion of the oor.

One of the upper corners of the door is cut away as indicated at S, there being an angular strap 9 secured upon this corner and designed to be engaged by the forked end lO of a lever 11. This lever is fulcrumed adjacent its lower end as indicated at 12, said lever being located within the wall adjacent the door and to one side of the path of said door. The lower end of the lever engages the forked end 13 of one arm of a bell crank lever 14, wthe other arm of said lever supporting a stirrup 15. A plate 16 is pivotally mounted between the door-jamb and the forked arm of lever 14, and interposed between this plate and the said arm is a sprino' 17. An adjusting screw 1S is mounted within the door-jamb and bears against the free end portion of plate 16. Obviously by adjusting the screw 18 which is located at one side of the door 1 the plate 16 can be shifted upon its pivot so as to increase or diminish the stress of spring 17.

It is of course to be understood that two sliding doors and -two actuating mechanisms such as hereinbefore described are to be utilized and the stirrups 15 engage and support the end portions of a bar 19 on which rests one end portion of a floor panel or section 2O extending in one direction from the door. This supported end of the licor section 20 is rabbeted as indicated at 22 and engages and supports a correspondingly shaped end of a ioor section 23 to which is secured a metal strip 24 bowed transversely and constituting a sill strip. This strip 24 laps the joint between the two floor sections and normally rests against the bottom edges of the doors 1.

As soon as a person approaching the door places his weight upon one of the floor sections 20 and 23 the bar 19 is pressed downwardly and motion is thus transmitted through the stirrup 15 to the lower arms of the bell crank levers 14. Said levers are thus shifted against the stress of springs 17 and the forked ends 13 of the levers swing the levers 11, so as to cause their upper ends to pull the doors l into open position. During this movement of the doors their top strips 2 and the carriages 4 travel along the lower rails 3. The doors will be kept open as long as the weight of the person is upon either of the floor panels 2O and 23, but as soon as these panels are relieved of such weight the springs 17 will return all of the parts to their initial positions and the doors will thus be closed automatically.

The operation hereinbefore described occurs when the person approaching the door walks along the longitudinal centers of the sections 2O and 23. If, however, the weight of the person should be applied solely to one side of either or both of these panels only the mechanism at that side of the door opening will be actuated, because the sections 20 and 23 will thus be tilted laterally. Only the door located directly in front of the person will thus be opened.

When a single sliding door is to be actuated the mechanism employed is slightly different from that hereinbefore described. This form of mechanism has been illustrated in Fig. 3. The bell crank lever 25 has its lower arm adjustably connected by means of a bolt 26 with a lever 27 which is fulcrumed at one end as indicated at 23, while its other end has a bowed or rounded head 29, on which the lapping ends of the floor panels rest. In all other respects this mechanism is similar to that hereinbefore described. llt will be apparent that when the head 29 is depressed the bell crank lever 25 will press against the lower end of the lever 30 corresponding with lever 11 hereinbefcre described, and the door will thus be shifted along the rails 3. When the floor panels are released from the weight of a person 31, a spring corresponding to the spring 17 but bearing against the lower end of lever 30, will return all of the parts to their initial positions.

Where very long sliding doors are employed, such as in stables, auditoriunis and the like, it is necessary to provide some means whereby the necessary movement of the doors can be effected, because the mechanism hereinbefore described can obviously only be used upon doors of ordinary size. As shown in Fig. 4 it is desirable, under these conditions, to provide two pivotally connected levers 32 and 33, one end of one of the levers 32 being hingedly connected to the wall, while the corresponding end of the other lever 33 is pivotally connected to the door 34. An arm 35 is hingedly connected to the lever 32 and has a sleeve 36 thereon from which extends a pitman 37, which, as shown in the drawings, is pivotally connected to the upper end of a lever 38 corresponding with the levers 11 and 30 heretofore described. This last mentioned lever 38 is designed to be operated in the same manner as has already been set forth in connection with the other forms of the device. Then said lever 38 is shifted by the depression of a floor panel it will pull on the pitman 37 and arm 35, and thus cause the lever 32 to swing back against the wall of the structure, and at the same time .the lever 33 will pull back on the door 34 and gradually fold against the lever 32. It will thus be seen that considerable movement of the door can be obtained, this movement being dependent upon the lengths of the levers 32 and 33. It is of course to be understood that the track upon which the door travels will prevent said door from becoming displaced during this shifting operation.

In order that the door may be readily locked in either open or closed position, a plate 39 may be secured to one edge of a door and extended laterally beyond the door, said plate being designed to abut against one end of a locking lever 40 disposed at one side of the path of the door. The fulcrum of this lever is above the path of the plate 39 but by tilting the lever in one direction one end thereof can be brought into the path of the plate 39, so as to prevent the door from sliding open, and, by tilting the lever in the other direction after the door has been opened, said lever will assume a position in the path of the plate and prevent the door from closing.

In order to the locking lever 40 facilitate the manipulation of an arm 41 extends from the middle portion thereof and travels over a locking strip 42 having a series of apertures 43, any one of which is designed to receive a pin 44 or other locking device extending through the arm 41. By locking the pin to one end portion of the strip 42 the lever 40 can be held in position to hold the door closed, and by locking the arm in vposition upon. the other end of the strip 42 the lever can be held in locking position with the door open. lVhen the arm 41 is secured to the middle portion of strip 42 the lever is maintained out of the path of strip 39 and the door can then be freely opened or closed.

It is of course to be understood that varions changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit or sacriicing the advantages of the invention.

What is claimed isz- 1. rlhe combination with a sliding door, of a lever fulcrumed adjacent and at one side of the path of the door, means for connecting the door and one end of the lever, a bell crank lever movably engaging the other end of said lever, a pivotally mounted bearing plate, a spring interposed between said plate and one arm of the bell crank lever, means for adjusting the plate to regulate the tension of the spring, depressible floor sections, means for transmitting motion from said sections to the bell crank lever to actuate the lever and the door.

2. The combination with a sliding door, of

a lever movaloly connected thereto, a bell adjusting the plate to increase or diminish l0 crank lever engaging and arranged to actulthe stress of the spring.

ate the first mentioned lever, a depressible In testimony that I claim the foregoing as Hoor section for actuating the bell crank my oWn, I have hereto aliXed my signature lever, a pvotally supported plate, a spring in the presence of two Witnesses.

interposed between said plate and bell crank JAMES I-I. PEARSON. lever and constituting means for holding the Witnesses:

levers and oor sections in predetermined JESSE E. BISHOP,

positions, and means adjacent the door for THos. J. VAL'roN. 

